In July 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)
issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2015-12, Plan
Accounting: Defined Benefit Pension Plans (Topic 960), Defined
Contribution Pension Plans (Topic 962), Health and Welfare Benefit
Plans (Topic 965); (Part I) Fully Benefit-Responsive Investment
Contracts, (Part II) Plan Investment Disclosures, (Part III)
Measurement Date Practical Expedient. While the ASU is
effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2015, early
adoption is permitted, and many plans are choosing to early-adopt
due to the simplification of disclosures and relevance to the
financial statement users.
Part II and Part III of the ASU reduce investment
related disclosures and simplify accounting for plans with a fiscal
year end that does not coincide with a calendar month end. These
changes are related to the overall simplification of financial
statement disclosures and enhancement of relevance to financial
statement users. (See